«We could accept a tolerance vote by ND, PASOK and Kammenos»

Dimitris Papadimoulis and John Dragasakis, 2 SYRIZA members that make up the political core of the party, describe the first steps in case their party emerges as the top power after the elections on June 17.

Papadimoulis explained that if SYRIZA becomes the top power, "starting with our program, we will discuss clear positions with the other forces of the Left, hoping that they will hear the message of the polls. I am  talking about the Democratic Left and KKE." Speaking about the possibility of forming a government of the Left of a specific period and purpose, he said "everything will be discussed during the phase of the exploratory mandates. I find it difficult to believe that when we say that we are open to discussion about the search for convergence, that other forces will say no and thus risk the possibility of being blamed for a new round of elections. We will do whatever we can to honor the logic of the people and be a progressive, anti-memorandum, leftist government not for a few months, but long enough to put a brake on this descent and initiate the urgent changes for Greek society and for growth. But there is a question as to what the other powers that do not belong in the spectrum of the Left will do," he said referring to ND, PASOK and the Independent Greeks. "It's up to them to give a tolerance vote to such a government. For example, they gave a tolerance vote to Tsipras’ government when SYRIZA had 52 MPs. Can they say no if we have 125-130 MPs?"

Dragasakis notes that "the deletion of a large part of the debt is necessary because it cannot be paid. This applies even if the debt is considered as formally legitimate. Besides the deletion there should be a clause for the remaining part, depending on growth and the developmental assistance we will receive." Describing the immediate objectives of a possible government with SYRIZA at its core, he says, "our immediate goals are primarily defensive. The most immediate goal is to stop the recession, halt the decreases in wages and pensions, avert any other burdens on taxes or incomes in the lower sectors of society that have been dried up financially, and also have relief measures to reduce insecurity and give back hope and realistic prospects to society. If we manage to stabilize the situation, we will be able to do many things afterwards. Without it, whatever we give will be lost again. Any opportunities that will arise will be used for those with the greatest needs." Commenting on the discontinuation of funding from the Troika, he said that "it is not in our intentions to proceed to unilateral actions. Apart from the great turmoil in Europe caused by such a decision, it would give us the right to challenge the whole of the debt." Asked whether the Greek government should have a plan B for the country's potential exit from the euro, he replied that "a modern and socially responsible State must have alternative plans, even for the least possible outcomes."